OPINION:
Like many other people in their 20s, I came to Washington full of ambition, wanting to make a career in politics. Faith had never been a priority for me, but in 2024, I went through the process of becoming a Catholic, joined the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and was accepted into the church that same year. My class was the largest my parish had ever seen. Astonishingly, classes have grown exponentially in churches throughout the city.
Something is changing in Washington among those of my generation.
Many friends, colleagues and acquaintances with no religious background tell me they’re experimenting with practice. They’re beginning to attend Mass, and a few are even going to weekday services before work.
Washington has never been a city known for its religion, but under the surface, more young people are finding this new frontier. They are bored with politics being their only source of purpose; they want something bigger than themselves.
Charlie Kirk once said, “Evil cannot exist if there is no standard of good.” Since his assassination, those words have stayed with me. His death shocked Washington and the rest of the country, but among the young, it has accelerated a trend already in play. Almost every friend of mine went to Mass in the days after the assassination. Some have said they might enroll in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults themselves.
For me, this is a “turning point,” and it also may be one for an entire generation.
Why is this happening now? Maybe because our politics are broken or because it is soul-draining to keep up with the news cycle these days. Maybe Kirk’s assassination reminded people of how fragile life is. Or maybe it is something even greater. As the Bible says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).
I am a 27-year-old woman who used to feel like she was the only one who cared about this kind of stuff. Now I see that I am not alone.
If you feel it, too, then you already know what I know. Beltway banter can get us only so far. Something greater is pulling our generation forward. Charlie Kirk’s death did not create that desire, but it has made it impossible to ignore.
GABRIELLE LIPSKY
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